together we leap (into life and new beginnings)
by SweetG
Summary: He feeds Taiga the strawberry from his own slice, and when Taiga somehow manages to get icing all over his upper lip and nose, it just comes out: "Let's have a baby, Taiga-kun."


Tetsuya extricates himself from Taiga's hold, wiggling around until Taiga's arms give the faintest bit, and then he slips the pillow in his place, watching as Taiga's brow creases while he gropes the fabric for a few seconds before making a little displeased sound and settling again, nose buried into the place where Tetsuya knows his scent is the strongest (for all Taiga had told him he didn't smell any particular way when they met, now he spent an inordinate amount of time with his nose in Tetsuya's belongings, and sometimes even Tetsuya himself).

Tetsuya gives in to the urge to poke Taiga's cheek, just to see him scrunch his nose in a way that's disproportionately cute taking into account it is such a common gesture. Taiga grumbles in his sleep and drools a little on Tetsuya's pillow. Tetsuya smiles, charmed.

He takes a picture with his phone: a nice close up of Taiga's face smushed against the pillow, mouth unceremoniously open. It will be fun to show it to him come morning and make comments about his likeness to Nigou.

Nigou, as if sensing Tetsuya's train of thought, wags his tail at him softly from his spot on the rug next to the bed before yawning widely and going back to sleep.

Tetsuya leans down to place a soft kiss on the dog's graying fur, which earns him a soft huff and a sleepy attempt to nuzzle into his hand that ends with Nigou's head lolling to the side as he falls back asleep mid-motion.

Tetsuya chuckles, getting off the bed and stepping cautiously around the sleeping dog.

"Tetsuya, heeey! Isn't it kinda early for you to be awake on a saturday? I thought you and Taiga slept in on the weekends when you have clear schedules."

Tetsuya smiles into the receiver as he settles on the couch.

"Ogiwara-kun, hello." He feels his smile widen. "I will ask Taiga-kun to have a child with me today."

"Ooookay, that totally warrants waking up early. _Damn_ , Tetsuya," Tetsuya closes his eyes as the noise increases on the other side of the line. He pictures Ogiwara stumbling all over himself in his way to the living room from the kitchen as he hears the clanking of pots and some murmuring that means Ogiwara is trusting his beloved breakfast preparation ritual to one of his housemates.

There's the sound of footsteps, rushed and heavy, and then Ogiwara trying to coax his household cat, Mikan, out of his favorite spot before loudly plopping down. "Okay- Okay, yes, I am sitting down now. Once again?"

"I will ask Taiga-kun to have a child with me today," Tetsuya feels the stretch of his lips as he repeats himself, his smile large enough to give his words a certain bounce.

Ogiwara breaks out in tears then. Ugly, loud bawling with a lot of attempts at speech that meet their demise without ever coming to fruition. Tetsuya hears him snorting up snot ungracefully, hiccuping like a kid and half sobbing out words like 'congratulations' and 'so happy' for a few minutes before he realizes that there's wetness on his cheeks and on his sleeve where it meets his face as he holds his phone.

Oh.

 _Oh._

* * *

"Have you decided how you will do this? Have you thought of any baby names? I will be the godfather, right? I am calling dibs right now."

"Ogiwara-kun, I have yet to ask Taiga-kun."

Ogiwara snorts into the receiver.

"I bet you 500¥ that he cries."

Tetsuya hums.

"Like you did just now, Ogiwara-kun?"

"Shut up, I'm a sensitive guy down to my core and I'm going to be an uncle! I can cry if I want to!" Ogiwara harrumphs loudly, pretending to be deeply offended, but it lasts him only a few seconds before he blurts out, "tears. Big, fat, ugly tears. Snot everywhere. Get pictures, I want to show them to my nephew or niece when they're old enough to properly make fun of their old men."

Tetsuya laughs warmly, unwittingly envisioning this future of unflattering pictures and teenaged children laughing at them; a future of Taiga and him together, living as a family.

His heart skips a beat.

"I can almost _hear_ you being a sap over there," Ogiwara tells him, and it isn't even a taunt. It's giddy and childish and full of wonder and other things that Tetsuya can feel inside him too, blooming sweet and tender and still strong and brazen.

* * *

Taiga _does_ cry.

Tetsuya tries to make him a romantic dinner that night, which turns out only half edible. He sets out candles and buys an expensive bottle of wine that he knows will probably go to waste because they are both terrible at holding their liquor. He even asks Aomine-kun to take Nigou for the evening.

He asks once they're having dessert. The cake's spongy and fluffy, perfectly sweet on Tetsuya's tongue, and he's glad to have bought this one instead of trying to make it from scratch, because it soothes the vague discomfort in his stomach, where something seems to have taken residence, flapping around.

He feeds Taiga the strawberry from his own slice, and when Taiga somehow manages to get icing all over his upper lip and nose, it just comes out:

"Let's have a baby, Taiga-kun."

Tetsuya has barely a second to worry over the abruptness of his proposal, before Taiga is hurtling out of his seat and falling on Tetsuya, knocking him off his own chair.

Tetsuya gets the air knocked out of him, and he's pretty sure his hip gets bruised something nasty, but his face gets covered in wet kisses that then start landing sloppily on his mouth, open mouthed and messy as Taiga cries and laughs and paws at every part of Tetsuya he can get his hands on.

They exchange hurried orgasms on their dining room's floor, half dressed in their best suits, getting them dirty in unspeakable ways. Taiga pants frantically in his ear the whole while, hugging him with one strong arm while he jerks both of them together off, and Tetsuya clings back, trying to mind Taiga's suit jacket up till Taiga bites his shoulder when he speeds the slick motions of his hand up.

Tetsuya gets a verbal 'yes' hours later, when they're sitting in the bathtub, hands roaming but bodies pleasantly exhausted for right then.

"That's a 'yes'," Taiga says, rubbing his nose over the line of Tetsuya's neck, "in case you didn't get it or something."

Tetsuya hums, thoughtfully.

"I do hope Taiga-kun isn't in the habit of replying to everyone's requests like this."

"You little shit," Taiga chuckles onto his skin and Tetsuya shivers, a pleasant tingling running all over his skin as Taiga tightens his hold on him.

* * *

(Shigehiro doesn't get pictures of Kagami's face covered in snot, which is a shame.

He does, however, get a video a few weeks later, of Kagami freaking out over different types of baby food.

And another one a week after that, this time from Kagami's own phone and probably as a retaliation, of Tetsuya worrying their baby being a natural at misdirection which makes Shigehiro snort his miso soup and his housemates laugh at him for the rest of the day.)

* * *

"I'm pretty sure buying those ones in bulk is too much, Shin-chan."

"Fate favors the well prepared," Shintarou replies, before grabbing another box of unscented baby wipes.

Kazunari has no choice but to smile, like a total sap.

"Oh, what about these ones?" He picks up two bottles from the aisle; his hands swallow them right up, but they still look pristine and cheery in their little packages. One of them has drawings of sheep, and the other has little stars.

"..." Shintarou appraises them for a few seconds before nodding, mouth tilting upwards for a fraction of a second, "put them on the cart."

Kazunari smiles again, putting the bottles on top of one of their packs of diapers, and resolutely ignores the heat curling low in his gut, the sweat cooling down on the nape of his neck.

* * *

The cashier rings them up efficiently, but she spares a few seconds to give them both smiles. The kind of smiles you give someone whom you don't know at all, but you're nonetheless happy for.

Kazunari doesn't bother correcting her assumptions because it's unnecessary, and because it's fun; it's nice, healthy fun to stand right next to Shintarou and lean his chin on his shoulder and let the cashier think whatever she will.

Shintarou pays with his credit card, and Kazunari doesn't even put up a pretense of trying to reach for his own wallet because they've worked up a system years ago, and it works. Kazunari will just buy the groceries for a while, and drive Shintarou around to and from the clinic (a temporary situation until they can start their own one, because for some reason Shintarou doesn't want to work under his father).

He packs the bags while Shintarou signs the receipt.

He grabs a little stuffed toy that he's sure wasn't on the cart the last time he looked. It's a soft thing with a bell inside, and Kazunari has to stare at it for a few seconds because the alternative would be to stare at _Shintarou_ , and he doesn't even know how he would even look at him right now, with that fluffy, impractical, beautiful thing in his hand.

He catches the cashier's eyes as Shintarou hands her the pen she lent him, they're soft and crinkled and knowing.

Kazunari packs the toy on top of everything else, and readies himself to rib Shintarou for the next few hours, until he's flushed with the embarrassment of being caught being a total sap.

It seems fair enough. An eye for an eye, right?

* * *

(Two months later they get a call from Kuroko in the middle of the night.

Shintarou picks up, and Kazunari knows what's up even with sleep clinging to him because his face goes through a hundred different little emotions in about three seconds.

He hears him utter out the softest spoken word he's ever heard from him, a _congratulations_ that fucks Kazunari right up. Stirs him up in this way that has him padding over to him to hug him from behind.

Shintarou composes himself and sends Kazunari's regards and best wishes too before gruffly sending Kuroko to tend to his newborn daughter.

They stay like that, after. Shintarou puts the phone on its holder and _melts_ into Kazunari's hold, and Kazunari knows they're about to tilt the world on its axis.

Shintarou turns around with the grace that Kazunari once envied him, all calculated movement, and he bends down to kiss Kazunari both like a question and like an answer.

When they part, Kazunari looks up at Shintarou's wide green eyes and is overcome with how strong and overwhelming his desire to just _stay with this awkward man_ is. It makes his chest hurt and his throat burn and he doesn't care because it's like finally making it to the finish line after a marathon.

He grabs Shintarou by the neck and makes him fall into an open mouthed, needy kiss.

An eye for an eye.)

* * *

 _Kuroko Hinata_.

Taiga can't stop looking at the bundle of blankets, can barely breathe. He holds onto the crib with a strong and shaking grip. Feeling like the wood under his palms is all that's keeping him on his feet. He feels himself shaking, like a leaf, like he could easily be blown apart by a particularly strong gust of wind, just like that.

Tetsuya's hand on his arm is reassuring and overwhelming, it's overwhelming to be so happy, to want to laugh so much and still want to cry so much, and all at the same time.

" _Taiga-kun_ ," Tetsuya's voice is soft and awed, and years upon years have given him the knowledge about his partner to read him like a book, so he can easily tell he's about to tear up himself.

"Damn gorgeous," he replies, hearing everything unspoken on that simple call, voice rough and trembling a little with emotion.

Tetsuya laughs at him, presses his face against Taiga's arm, and Taiga feels the man's lips stretching into the soft smile that's been making his heart skip beats since he was a sweaty, pimply fifteen year old against the fabric of his sleeve. Tetsuya rubs his face there, still laughing, and Taiga would bet that he's using him to wipe some tears, but he can't bring himself to care.

"Taiga-kun, you should refrain from swearing in front of our daughter. We don't want her to pick up your bad habits."

Taiga makes himself let out a disgruntled noise, and reaches up to grab Tetsuya's hair, ruffles it vigorously up till it's standing on all ends and looking ridiculous. It comes out about as annoyed as he feels, which is not at all. Tetsuya just swats his hand away and then grabs onto it, intertwines their fingers together and squeezes.

They lean on each other as their daughter sleeps on, and Taiga, who's always been a bit of a romantic fool, as much as he tried to deny it, thinks that this is the kind of thing people envision when they write 'and they lived happily forever after' into their stories.

* * *

(Tetsuya snickers at him when he confesses to that one that night when they are changing a smelly, heavy diaper, but Taiga doesn't have any time to be offended, because then Tetsuya's hauling him down and kissing him softly, saying, "I love when Taiga-kun says embarrassing things." And then, softer, almost swallowed up by the noises of discontent Hinata is making, "I love Taiga-kun".)

* * *

Daiki cries.

He won't admit it to anyone, not even to Tetsu. _Especially not to Tetsu_ (not that'd ever have to, because the guy would know anyway as soon as he set eyes on him, and smile at him in that half infuriating, half charming way of his).

But when the call comes that Kuroko Hinata is finally home, that one of his best friends for going on ten years has had a _kid_ with the man he's chosen to spend his life with, all he can do is look at Satsuki, who's standing right next to him with her phone on speaker, and tear up.

Tetsu sounds tiny over the phone but still ecstatic, happier than Daiki's ever heard him, voice filled with emotion, with joy, and when Daiki tells him he's so happy for him, that they'll be visiting soon to meet the baby, that he better be the godfather or else, it's nothing but the truth, no matter what else he might feel.

Tetsu hangs up after a little while, and they can hear crying on the other end of the line as he says his goodbyes.

Satsuki hugs him immediately after the call is done, and they cling to each other and _cry_ like they haven't in a long long while, with a mixture of feelings (most of them good, but some of them a little sad, a little nostalgic) that they don't really need to explain to each other, because they've always known what the other's thinking, even when it was ugly or inconvenient.

When they finally separate they both look messy and wet and they poke fun at each other's faces, at the snot running down each other's nostrils and the swollen eyes, and once they are done bantering, Satsuki is grabbing him by the arm and dragging him out of the room.

"We have some shopping to do," she says, in high spirits, "we need to dress up that little girl, because Tetsu-kun might have a lot of qualities but his fashion sense is not one of them. And, well, I'm not even talking about Kagamin."

* * *

(Daiki cries, again.

This time there's nobody to tell, really. Nobody to admit it to. Because it's in front of anyone who would care.

Tetsu walks up to him with his daughter in arms and looks up at him with his wide, happy eyes, bright and just the faintest bit wet, and he asks Daiki in a soft, quiet voice if he wants to hold her, and Daiki looks down at the baby's sleeping face, at the tiny fists that are covered with tiny colorful socks where they rest next to her chin, and he's nodding before he knows it.

He can't remember the last time he held a baby, if he ever did, and he's clumsy and scared -heart beating like a drum inside him, loud enough to be deafening- as Tetsu teaches him how to hold her, putting her on his arms and trusting Daiki, in that moment, with the most important thing in his life.

Hinata yawns, and Daiki is surprised by the sudden urge of deep affection he feels.

"Hi," he tells her, and he feels weird and too big and with his skin too tight, and uncomfortable by the way he feels _so much_ , "I'm Daiki, your cool uncle."

He means it to sound smug, to sound sure and strong and cocky, but it comes out thin and frail, and once he's done talking, he realizes his cheeks are wet with tears that he can't even brush away because his hands are full with baby and blankets.

Hinata yawns again, and bats her eyes open, seemingly staring up at him with a scrunched nose that makes her look way too unimpressed, for a baby that isn't even a month old .

Daiki lets out a croaky bout of laughter at that, because damn that is Tetsu's daughter alright.)

* * *

Tatsuya has to admit that when Taiga called him on the phone one evening almost an year ago and told him, breathless and with an undercurrent of emotions that even Tatsuya, who'd known him since they were kids scraping their knees on streetball courts, couldn't completely decipher, that he and Kuroko (Tetsuya, that he and _Tetsuya_ ) were having a kid, there'd been a part of him that had felt brotherly worry. A part that had wanted to make Taiga sit down and drill him on this, and maybe ask him a few times if he was aware of the fact that both he and Kuroko were _24 years old, goddammit Taiga._

He knew better than to spew all that, than to ruin this moment for his brother. Over the years he'd grown to trust Taiga's decisions, and to respect them even when he couldn't completely understand them.

He also knew that what Taiga needed from him right then wasn't for him to be a complete asshole.

He can recall the conversation they'd had, can recall him honestly congratulating him on the news (because despite everything, Kuroko was one of the best things to happen to Taiga, and he couldn't see them making a family as a step in the wrong direction), and Taiga going a little silent on the other end of the line, and then he recalls the sudden panicked _I don't even know what I am feeling, bro. I am so fucking happy? But I am so scared? What if I ruin this kid's life? What if they don't like me? What if I'm terrible at this and Tetsuya and I-_

Tatsuya remembers cutting him right there before he could spiral into some weird, impossible nightmare scenario, and then spending at least an hour reassuring him and groaning at his sudden bouts of loud joy in turns. Atsushi had shown up in the midst of it and gotten on the couch with him, head lazily thrown over Tatsuya's lap for Tatsuya to pet his hair while he alternated between 'Taiga, it's okay's and 'I really didn't need to know that's until Taiga was back to his usual noisy self, jitters gone, and all ecstatic bellowing.

Upon hanging up, Tatsuya had shared the news with Atsushi, and gotten a quiet but honest _that's nice, Kurochin is good with kids_. Tatsuya had smiled down at him and placed an upside kiss on his lips that Atsushi had easily opened up for, messy and awkward as it was in their positions.

It was just like Atsushi to react like that. And he guessed it was just like him to freak out a little. He's the sensible one, between the two of them. The one who knows better and acts accordingly.

* * *

They're six months deep into what's become their routine thursday evening babysitting gig when Tatsuya realizes he probably doesn't any better. And that his so-called sensibleness is probably running out.

Atsushi took to the grittier bits of taking care of a baby with an unprecedented alacrity, changing diapers while humming commercial songs and enduring crying spells with surprising ease. Tatsuya had wondered about it at first, ribbing Atsushi good naturedly, but he hadn't gotten much of a rise besides an absent minded _Eh? I guess always wanted to be a big brother..._ as he gently (oh so gently) rubbed a fussy Hinata's back.

Back then Tatsuya had smiled and let it go, just taken it in like he'd taken in all of Atsushi's other facets.

Now, Tatsuya has a six month old niece that seems to think Atsushi is the best, more comfortable piece of furniture on the whole house, and she even holds her head up to give him toothless baby smiles that Atsushi returns with small ones of his own and quiet humming that she giggles and writhes at.

And Tatsuya has to deal with the clue-by-four that is getting first row seats to that whole thing while he warms Hinata's bottle, has to deal with his stomach dropping frighteningly pleasantly as Atsushi talks in soft tones to the baby who just _bababa_ s at him in reply, has to just own up to the fact that oh shit he wants _this_. For himself and Atsushi.

He's warming up his niece's bottle on his kitchen with pantries filled with more snacks and sugar packed shit than actual nutritious food, with a perfect view of their trendy, gigantic black faux leather couch where his partner and his niece are having the world's most ridiculous conversation because they've got an open floor plan, _because they're 24 and 25_ , and Tatsuya thinks: _I want this_.

The water on the pot he's using to warm up the bottle bubbles (Atsushi says it's better than microwaving and Tatsuya just doesn't have much of an opinion one way or the other), and he curses under his breath, turning off the stove.

"Murochin?"

"Yes, Atsushi?"

"Hinachin says she's hungry."

Tatsuya takes in some air, lets it go, and grabs the bottle from the slowly cooling water.

"We'll have to wait a little bit to feed her," he says apologetically as he walks towards them, grabbing Hinata's burping cloth, "I let it stay too long in the water."

Atsushi hums at him in response. He reaches a hand out as soon as Tatsuya is within grabbing distance, and Tatsuya thinks he's aiming for the cloth so he holds it out, but Atsushi grabs his arm instead and tugs.

Atsushi's eyes are deep and half-lidded in the way they always are when he's at peace. Hinata turns her head and rests her cheek on Atsushi's chest, making spit bubbles at Tatsuya as she reaches out a chubby arm towards him.

Tatsuya lets himself get pulled down.

* * *

(When he calls Taiga six months later and utters out a rushed, breathless _Atsushi and I might be thinking about having a kid_ , Taiga's eloquent reply is a loud _holy shit_ , and Tatsuya laughs hysterically into the receiver and says _bro, I know_.)

* * *

' _Model Kise Ryouta gets brutally rejected by 11 months old baby'_

2,000,675 views

"Hinata-chan, won't you give uncle Kise a kiss? Kiss? No?"

"No!"

" _So mean._ One kiss? You'll make me cry!"

"No! No! No, no, no, no, _no_!"

" _So mean_. Kagamicchi, stop laughing!"

Ryouta smiles at the screen, where the video is projecting for everyone in the audience, and listens to their laughs as he goes on to offer the baby who's sitting on her high chair a series of toys that she proceeds to hardly reject every single time. Then Kagami picks one of them and gives it to her again, only for her to accept it with a lot of happy giggling. The video shakes there as Kuroko starts quietly laughing at Ryouta's outrage. The video goes on for a little while more, as Ryouta keeps trying to gain Hinata's favor. When it looks like he's succeeded in his attempts, Hinata finally taking a soft ball with a bell inside it from him, Ryouta turns to face the camera and starts an over the top victory speech that's interrupted when tiny Kuroko Hinata throws her toy at him with incredible accuracy (and strength), nailing him right in the face, making Kagami burst out laughing as Ryouta stands there with his mouth hanging open as the video starts shaking again.

The show's host covers up her own laugh with her brightly colored cue cards.

Once the video ends, with Kagami taking the phone from Kuroko and getting a close-up of Ryouta pouting with a slightly pink cheek while Kuroko goes up to pick their daughter and softly reprimand her in a voice that's dripping with barely contained amusement ("We don't throw stuff at people's faces, Hinata-chan, not even if they're as annoying as Kise-kun"), Ryouta stands up and bows down, getting excited clapping and shouting.

"Well," the host, a smiling young woman that Kise's had some photo shoots with before she moved onto acting, starts, "that is surely the first time I've seen heartthrob Kise Ryouta get so thoroughly dismissed."

Ryouta gives his best over the top pout to the camera that's closing up on him.

"I know, right?" He then gives a theatrical sigh, "but what can I say, it's a family trait. Kurokos do have a knack for making me cry."

The crowd coos at his statements and he gives them a winning smile.

Ryouta's phone vibrates in his pocket as the host laughs delightedly and he doesn't need to check to know who it is.

* * *

( _Kise-kun exaggerates_

Ryouta texts him back a string of crying emojis.)

* * *

"Daddy says uncle Akashi isn't allowed in the crafts corner," Hinata leans over and whispers into Seijuurou's ear, loud enough that her parents can hear her perfectly on the other side of the kitchen, where they are making dinner together, dancing around each other perfectly, in tune with each other's cues, always being where needed, always looking over to the other at the perfect moment to hand something over, or just smile at each other sweetly.

'Daddy' stiffens next to Tetsuya, ducking his head and inspecting a vegetable on his cutting board much longer than needed. Tetsuya, on the other hand, delicately puts his knife down so he can shake with minute tremors that Seijuurou recognizes as laughter.

"Really?" He asks the girl that's now pushing a toy car up to him in a faux secretive tone.

She looks up from the toys on the table and nods enthusiastically.

"Really really!" She whispers back at him, "daddy says I shouldn't be mad that I can't use the scissors," she pauses there and frowns down at her car for a little while, "unsu… pervised? unsupervised! Because neither can uncle Seijuurou!"

"Milk," interrupts Kagami Taiga then, loudly, "milk. We ran out of milk. I need to go buy some milk. Right now. From the convenience store."

He turns around and drops a hurried, noisy kiss onto Tetsuya's lips before sprinting out of the kitchen.

Hinata turns in her high chair to watch her dad go, but her attention soon goes back to her toys.

Seijuurou looks at Tetsuya, who's turned around and facing him now, knife forgotten on the cutting board, as he just smirks after his husband's retreating back.

Seijuurou shakes his head at them both and goes back to playing with Hinata, who tells him in vivid detail all about what's going on with the cars, the trucks, the dolls and action figures, and the plastic cups as he nods along seriously while she explains him exactly where he comes in.

* * *

(Kagami comes back fifteen minutes later -sans milk-, and Seijuurou might, or might not make one or two throwaway comments and jabs at his expense about needing adult supervision, just to see his hulking form scoot closer to Tetsuya as he barks that it was a _joke, goddammit_ , earning himself a jab to the ribs from his husband, who reminds him that their young, extremely impressionable daughter is in the room.

Seijuurou might be reformed, but that doesn't make him anything close to a Saint. And honestly, only a Saint would pass an opportunity like this up.)

* * *

"So, volleyball, huh?"

"Ugh, shut up. I don't even know how that happened. Apparently there's this show she likes? And now it's setters this and mid-blockers that, and what the hell's a pinch server anyway, Alex?"

"Beats me, man, the only time I set out a foot on a volleyball court I was fourteen and got knocked out for ten minutes."

"... Maybe Tetsuya and I should have another talk about this."

"Taiga, _please_."

"Ugh, I know, I know. Fuck. I just- I wanted her to experience what Tetsuya and I did back in high school, you know?"

"And who says she can't? Volleyball could be an, I don't know, epiphany filled sport for all we know. And she's _eight_ , Taiga. When we skyped last week she told me she wanted to become a martial artist."

" _I know_. You know, the older you get, the more you sound like a-"

"-If you value your life, you'll stop while you're ahead."

"..."

"That's a good boy."

"..."

"... Okay, I have to say I _was_ looking forward to coaching her this summer."

"... Well. If, uh, if Hinata turns out to never gain an interest in basketball, you can always coach the next one, you know?"

"... _Holy shit_ , _Taiga._ "

"Surprise?"


End file.
